Anti-Asian bias reports to state hotline jumped last year

Reports of anti-Asian bias increased by the highest percentage in calls to Oregon’s bias hotline last year, according to a report from the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission released Friday.

The hotline received a little over 1,600 calls total in 2021, with reports peaking twice in March and December. The spikes coincided with COVID-19 infection waves and were likely due to a reaction to policies put in place to limit infections and/or requests from others to follow health measures, the report said.